Frank Before Vicksburg

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER X.

  New Messmates.

  The next morning, immediately after quarters, the second cutter wascalled away; and Frank, after seeing his luggage safely stowed away inher, shook hands with his brother officers, who had gathered on thequarter-deck to see him off, and started toward his new vessel.

  The cutter had made, perhaps, a dozen yards from the Ticonderoga, whenFrank observed a commotion among the crew assembled on the main-deck,and the old mate, mounting one of the boat-davits, shouted:

  "Three cheers for Mr. Nelson!"

  The cheers were given with a will, and Frank answered them by taking offhis cap. It was one of the happiest moments of his life. He knew thatwhile attached to the Ticonderoga he had endeavored to do his wholeduty. The shoulder-straps which he wore showed that his services hadbeen appreciated by the captain, and the hearty expression of goodfeeling which had just been exhibited by the men, afforded abundantproof that he had left no enemies among them.

  When he arrived alongside of the Rover, he found the officer of thedeck, boatswain's mate, and side-boys standing on the after-guard, andFrank was "piped over the side" with all the ceremony due his rank. Itmade him feel a little embarrassed at first, for never before had somuch respect been shown him. But he knew that he had won the uniform hewore by hard knocks, and was more entitled to this honor than those whosported ensign's shoulder-straps which had been obtained, not by anyskill or bravery of their own, but by the influence of friends at home.

  Frank made known his business, and was immediately shown down into thecabin. The captain, who had often met him on board of the Ticonderoga,and who had heard of his exploits, greeted him cordially, and was gladto learn that he had received such an acquisition to his crew. When hehad endorsed Frank's orders, he sent for the chief engineer, to whom heintroduced him, with a request that he might be made acquainted with theother officers of his mess; after which Frank was shown to his room,whither his luggage was soon conveyed.

  Just before supper he was introduced to the officers belonging to theward-room mess; but when he had seated himself at the table, andlistened a few moments to the conversation that followed, he found thatsome of his new messmates went by names very different from those bywhich they had been introduced. One of the ensigns, whose name wasAndrews, was known as Count Timbertoes, from the very dignified mannerin which he always conducted himself, and from his wooden-leg style ofprogression.

  The executive officer, whose name was Short, answered to itsopposite--Long; and sometimes, behind his back, he was called "Windy."Frank was not long in discovering why it was that such a name had beengiven him, for he was certainly the most talkative man he had ever met;and when asked the most simple question, instead of answering it by aplain Yes or No, he would "beat about the bush," and deliver a regularoration on the subject. He had a great command of language, and seemeddesirous of making every one whom he met acquainted with the fact.

  The paymaster went by the name of Young Methuselah. He was a man abouttwenty-seven years of age, but the account kept by one of the engineers,who messed in the steerage, made him about two hundred and eighty yearsold. There was scarcely a trade or profession in the world that,according to his own account, he had not followed for five or ten years.He had been a shoemaker, a painter, a grocer, a horse-jockey, and aneditor; had practiced medicine, traveled in Europe, and, when a mereboy, had been master of as fine a vessel as ever sailed out of Boston.He was a "self-made man," he said, and early in life had started outwith the intention of seeing the world. This was the reason he gave forfollowing so many different occupations.

  Unlike the rest of the officers, he disliked very much the name they hadgiven him, and had often complained to the caterer of the mess, andfinally to the captain. The former took no measures to correct it, andthe latter "didn't want to be troubled with mess affairs," and so thepaymaster was compelled to bear his troubles, which he did with a verybad grace, that only made matters tenfold worse. It was a noticeablefact, however, that, whenever any of the officers were in need of money,he was always addressed as _Mr._ Harris, but as soon as the money hadbeen obtained, or the safe was empty, he was plain Methuselah again.

  The chief-engineer's name was Cobbs, but he went by the name ofGentleman Cobbs, from the fact that he was always dressed in the heightof fashion, sported his gold-headed cane and patent-leather boots aboutdecks, and had never been known to "do a stitch of work" since he hadbeen on board the vessel.

  These names were, of course, applied only in the mess-room, for thecaptain was a regular naval officer, a very strict disciplinarian, andany such familiarity on deck would have brought certain and speedypunishment on the offender. On the whole, Frank was very well pleasedwith his new messmates; they seemed to be a set of generous,good-natured men, and, aside from the grumbling of the paymaster, whichwas kept up without intermission from morning until night, but whichreceived no attention from the other members of the mess, every thingpassed off smoothly. The ward-room was kept scrupulously clean and neat,and the manner in which all the delicacies of the season were served upbore testimony to the fact that, although Gentleman Cobbs was very muchaverse to work, he well understood the business of catering, and wasfond of good living.

  After dinner, the officers belonging to both the steerage and ward-roommesses congregated on the main-deck, under the awning, to smoke. Duringthe conversation the carpenter, who went by the name of "Chips,"remarked, as he wiped the big drops of perspiration from his forehead:

  "This boat is intolerable. I would like to be where I was six years agothis summer."

  "Where was that?"

  "I was in a whale-ship, off the coast of Greenland. I was tired enoughof it then, but now I'd like to have just one breath of air off thoseicebergs."

  "So would I," said the paymaster. "It would be so refreshing."

  At this, a little, dumpy man, who had sat lolling back in his chair,with his hat pushed down over his eyes, and his cigar, which he hadallowed to go out, pointing upward toward his left cheek, started up,and carelessly inquired:

  "Were you ever there, sir?"

  "Yes, when I was a youngster. I went up there just to see the country. Ispent five years on the voyage."

  The dumpy man made no answer, but there was a roguish twinkle in hiseye, as he drew a little memorandum-book from his pocket, and, afterdeliberately placing it on his knee, proceeded to make the followingentry, on a page which was headed "Chronological Tables," and which wascovered on one side with writing, and on the other by a long column offigures:

  Paymaster spent on voyage to Greenland 5 years.

  After adding up the column of figures, he closed the book and returnedit to his pocket. Then, turning to the paymaster, he quietly remarked:

  "Four hundred and eighty-five years old! That's doing well-extremelywell. You don't look as old as that, sir. You won't find one man in fivehundred hold his age as well as you do."

  The effect of this speech on the officers sitting around was ludicrousin the extreme, and had the party been in the mess-room the dumpy manmight possibly have been obliged to "run a race" with a boot-jack, orany other missile that came handy to the paymaster; but as it was, thelatter was compelled to choke down his wrath, and leave the deck.

  Frank also found that these strange cognomens were common in thesteerage; one, in particular, he noticed. It was a master's mate, whowent by the name of "Nuisance." He was as "green" as he could possiblybe, and, although he seemed to try hard to learn his duty, wascontinually getting himself into trouble. He had a room off thequarter-deck, (the same that Frank was to occupy,) but seemed to preferany other room than his own; for, when off watch, he would takepossession of the first bunk that suited his fancy; and, notunfrequently, boots, neck-ties, collars, etc., which had been missed,were found upon his person. It was not his intention to _steal_ them,for the articles were always returned after he had worn them to hissatisfaction. If an officer went into his room to write, or to engage inany other business at wh
ich he did not wish to be disturbed, the matewas sure to be on hand, and hints were of no avail; nothing but a direct"Clear out--I don't want you in here," would have the desired effect. Itwas this habit that had given him the name he bore. One would supposethat after receiving so many rebuffs he would cease to trouble hisbrother officers; but he seemed to be very dull of comprehension. Theexecutive officer scolded him continually. Finding that it did no good,the officers were obliged, as a last resort, to keep their rooms locked.Had the mate been of a surly, unaccommodating disposition, he would nothave got off so easily; but no one could have the heart to report him,for every one liked him. He was always cheerful, ready to do any one afavor, and was generous to a fault. Frank at once took a liking to hisnew room-mate, but, having been duly instructed by the others, he tookparticular pains to keep all his wearing apparel, when not in use,safely locked in his trunk.